298
Jape's spell
🗡️

Along with most of the other children you keep your hands down.

"You don't want to hear my jokes? Well I never!" Professor Jape looks genuinely hurt for a moment, but quickly recovers his composure.

"Perhaps you will be laughing on the other side of your face by the end of this lesson." Jape gives another high pitched giggle and you all shift on your seats uneasily.

"Maybe," he continues, "you will enjoy this one. I need a volunteer!"

No one volunteers so Jape scans the classroom. He points at Snako.

"You! Come forward."

Snako shuffles forward to the front of the class.

Without any warning Professor Jape whips out his wand, points it at Snako and yells: "Vamos varita vencer vistosamente!"

A golden light extrudes from the tip of Jape's wand. The light looks like a solid sparkly golden beam and extends for one metre then stops emerging. Jape swings his wand around and you realise that he has created a magical golden light sword! As the golden beam swipes through the air it makes satisfying swishing zoom noises.

"En guard!" snaps Jape to Snako with a gleam in his eye before suddenly launching into a frenzied attack, swiping left and right with his light sword. In a flash he has covered the 5 metres to Snako and he holds the light sword directly at Snako's throat.

"Now you will die." Jape says simply.

There is dead silence in the class. Everyone is holding their breath.

Then, almost in exact unison, everyone screams and runs out of the door, except Snako who is rooted to the spot in fear, and you partly because you don't want to abandon your friend, and partly because you have a morbid curiosity to see what will happen next.

Professor Jape lowers the light sword and gives a high pitched giggle.

"I were just joking, didn't you know that?" he said to the fleeing children. "It were just a joke!" he shouted louder at their fleeing backs.

Professor Jape sighs and says to you and Snako: "They can't take a joke, can they? Well lessons over now I suppose. But remember: Vamos varita vencer vistosamente that's a good one that is!"

You and Snako nod and swallow, and without saying another word, flee out of the classroom.